Watching Toddlers and Tiaras is like watching a bad car accident as your jaw drops in disbelief of what you have just witnessed. Perhaps the most disturbing of all the characters ever seen on the show is a child named Mackinzie Myers. There is absolutely NOTHING cute or adorable about this child. In fact to me she is an ugly child both inside and outside (Yes I called a child ugly) created by ugly parenting.

Her shiny and sparking dresses and wigs and mascaraed eyes and shiny glossed lips can never mask her horrific demanding selfish, mouthy behavior as she shouts the rudest things to her mother. She orders her around like a slave and in a demanding tone asking “Where’s my drink” There is no mention of please or a thank you. And worse of all the mother accepts this Toxic behavior.

Mackenzie is even seen on camera with her angry puss telling her mother not to speak to her and go away as she waits her turn to go on stage to compete for a beauty title. She actually says to her mother “I’m not doing what you tell me” “Go way.”

And what does this mother do? She merely says OK. Mackenzie’s mother is clearly intimidated by this monster child she created.

Not only does this mother not give this child behavioral boundaries or time outs, she indulges the child’s every whim. One of those whims involves the child’s pacifier which the child named “Ni Ni”

Apparently Ni Ni has taken on a persona of it’s own as both the little girl and her mother treat it as a live entity. The mother calmly says on camera how Mackenzie is addicted to Ni Ni. We then see a frantic MacKenzie running around her house anxiously calling out for “Ni Ni” as her mother calmly finds Ni Ni on a shelf which is too high for MacKenzie to reach .

The mouthy rude Mackenzie then stuffs her face with the Ni Ni as she manages to further insult her mother, make demands, and order her around. Even though the mother says nothing, she has an obvious eye twitch which perhaps reflects her discomfort and nervousness at being around this monster-like child. Oftentimes when we don;t express our true feelings we may often develop muscle twitches which often occurs around the facial and eye muscles.

This Ni Ni and her mother’s not putting a stop to a four year old having a pacifier has created a jaw deformity in the child. The deformity as you can see in the photo below is called an ” open bite” which severely detracts from her looks in my view. The mother and father of Mackenzie are spending thousands of dollars on her costumes, tans, hair wigs, her pageant entry fees, and transportation. But they are not focusing on the most important thing right in front of their eyes when it comes to beauty and having the winning advantage. They are ignoring their child’s “piranha fish- like smile ” that they created by constantly allowing her to have the pacifier in her mouth, which has distorted her dental and jaw formation as you can see int he photo below.

If this sounds mean to you it is not meant to be. It is meant to show you what can happen when you leave a pacifier in a child’s mouth too long, especially during critical jaw growth and developmental phases. So if you are a parent or grandparent be aware of this and when the child is no longer an infant, loose the pacifier.

The girl even has a speech impediment as a result of the open bite, which does not sound cute. She cannot make certain sounds properly because of the gaping distorted hole in her mouth. And no , she will not outgrow this speech impediment or lisp because it is now due to a structural deformity. She needs braces and dental work and speech therapy to rectify this problem her mother created by indulging her with a pacifier for way too long.

She is demanding and hateful as she screams at her mother at the top of her lungs. In the above photo look at her neck muscles and how bunched up they are as she screams at the top of her lungs. All the screaming and yelling on a constant basis and aggressive anger has made this child consistently hoarse sounding.

This is awful as it creates yet another problem for the child- vocal nodes or nodules . When a child or adult for that matter is constantly abusing and attacking their vocal cords, they are destroying their voice. It makes her sound unappealing and aggressive and hostile. She will have serious problems down the road in speaking and also in singing.

As Mackensie ages, I think things will only get worse unless she gets therapy. She is already formed as she is around 5 or 6 now. According to Gesell Child development studies, one is already formed by the time they are 5 . If that is the case Mackenzie, and other over indulged pageant created monsters are messed up forever.

Then there are the Pixie stick which pageant parents like Mackenzie’s give their daughters to give them energy so they sparkle during the pageant and don’t nod off. One girl reported on camera that she ate 14 of them. In reality the sugar makes them jumpy , prediabetic and creates cavities. It also creates a weight gain when they get older.

Then we see a total absorption of the child with herself as she thinks she is all that. She signs autographs and takes photos with other children with a phony mask -like smile. She doesn’t relate to these other children because it is all about her.

Unless this child is home schooled where she is the only student in the room she will have a heck of a time getting around with other children. These little boys and girls will not be impressed with her beauty queen status and her self absorption . Because she has not leaned basic skills like caring about others and non selfishness and sharing, early on, she will no doubt have a horrible time adjusting in a school setting.

She has been conditioned to only thinking of herself and not about others. She is conditioned to thinking about her looks in a competitive way. Heaven help another child who is better looking and more popular and gets more attention. Mackenzie won’t like it for sure and may act out in a bad way. In fact another contestant reported on camera that Mackenzie tried to bite her. Let her try that at school and she will be in huge trouble with potential law suits by the bitten child’s parents.

And who do I blame- Mr.and Mrs. Myers who both sit there like bumps on a log and constantly allow this ill behaved child to run over them. They are not doing her any favors by not disciplining her.

This child needed to spend most of her day in time out based on the behavior we witnessed on the show. Back in the day, she would have received a swat on her behind for that mouthiness. And she would have not been allowed to compete in any pageants unless she showed some manners and respect.

It doesn’t take a PhD in psychology, a psychic or a soothsayer to predict Mackenzie’s future. She is ruined forever and it is too late to change her unless she has a lot of therapy to undo the damage done to her by her lax and over indulgent parents. Instead spending useless money to win additional crowns and paying expensive pageant entry fees dresses, makeup, wigs, gas, and plane fare, Mr. And Mrs. Myers need to invest in a good therapist for Mackenzie in my view. They need to use the money they spend on gas to get to the pageant , to instead get to a homeless shelter so Mackenzie can learn the lesson of sharing by taking a good portion of her toys and stuffed animals and give them to homeless children or to children at her local children’s hospital.

Instead of The Myers depending on Mackenzie to win a few hundred dollars in pageant money, Mrs. Meyers needs to spend her time getting a job (and there are jobs where she could work from home in case she is home schooling Mackenzie).

Many of these Toxic Parents live through their children. The show is filled with unattractive, ill dressed, and morbidly obese parents who clealry live through their cute pint sized “thin” (for now) daughters. These mothers are not beauties and usually have never been one, so they feel a sense of accomplishment and esteem when their baby daughters get a beauty prize.
But what they fail to realize is that EVERYONE who enters the pageant gets a crown or a title so they are motivated keep coming back next year. In essence, many of these pageants are often duping the parents into thinking they have the most special and beautiful child when they really don’t. The pagent makes a lot of money as they acknowledge every participant and declare them a winner . The crown validates the parent’s over indulgent behavior, the money they spent on dresses and gas.

It’s is all too sickening. At this tender age of growth and development and personality formation, these little girls need to be learning that beauty is on the inside not just on the outside. They need to learn that pretty is as pretty does. That is worth more than any pageant win. If they don’t learn this lesson immediately, heaven help what kind of women they will grow up to be.- narcissistic, self indulgent, entitled and selfish creatures .

The girl also tells us on camera how cute and adorable she is. In one of her dance routines she puts her fingers into the sides of her cheeks to make a cutesy pose as she dances. It is all too nauseating to look at. At the end of her dance routine, she is quite adept at blowing a kiss to each specific judge which is supposed to sway them into voting for her. It teaches her how to be manipulative by using her looks and cuteness. The only thing is that after you watch her in action, her cuteness suddenly diminishes.

53 Comments

Dorraine

January 21, 2012 - 9:22 PM

This makes me sick too. I believe it’s a form of child abuse. As much as I hate excessive laws, I think there should be a law against raising a child this way. They’re sure to grow up to be a big problem for society.

Jules

January 21, 2012 - 11:30 PM

with this kind of indulgence there will be more kc anthonys out there and we don’t need that crap.

whaddyaexpect

January 23, 2012 - 12:57 AM

This is how you create cluster B personality disorders (BPD, narcissists, sociopaths). Way to go, parents!
Without discipline, children remain selfish and expect to get away with everything, consequence free. This makes for abusive, horrible adults, with no frustration tolerance. They remain babies for life, and everyone else suffers for it.

Annette

January 23, 2012 - 4:20 AM

Toddlers & Tiara’s has actually shown MacKenzie twice on their show. Obviously her behavior is quite obnoxious…why else would they feature her twice? I cannot get over these parents. The amount of money they waste is unbelievable. Looking at many of their homes, it’s clear that the families are spending money that they do not have. How about a college fund? How about teaching these young girls about doing something for others? Narcicissic sociopaths in the making. Parents who never say “NO” might consider that they are creating a future Casey Anthony-type. Such overindulgence is never a good thing.

Carrie

January 23, 2012 - 3:16 PM

How dare you call a child ugly! How do you think she will feel in 5 years when she Googles herself and finds your article. I have watched this little girl on the show several times and I find her to be a delight. Yes, she gets cranky but wouldn’t you if you were forced to do something you didn’t want to do? She has said on the show she just wants to be a normal kid. She doesn’t like all the kids coming to her for autographs because she just wants to play like the other normal kids. Why don’t you do a little more research and watch more than a couple of clips of the show before you make a judgement call like this and call her ugly?? You’re ugly Lillian! From watching MacKenzie on the show I have found her to be a very sensitive little girl who really doesn’t want all of this attention. She is very dramatic, yes but that’s one of the things that makes her so adorable. Did you watch the episode where she was auditioning for acting? She was remarkable. She is a very special, talented little girl and you nauseate me for the way you talk about her.

And, no, I am not related to or even know this girls or her family. I just actually watched the show. You obviously didn’t and will create whatever drama needed to keep you relevant.

This child IS UGLY in my view and her behavior screams UGLINESS.Her open bite and jaw abnormality does NOT make her attractive in any way. Her speech defect will make her even less attractive as research has repeatedly shown. How will she feel when she googles herself in five years and sees her UGLY behavior on camera and how her lax mother did nothing to discipline her and set boundaries . If you find this girl to be a delight, then there is something terribly wrong with your value system in my view Carrie Bucci. You state “She gets cranky because she is forced to do something she does;t want to do.” She loves doing pageants as we saw not he show and that is something she is not forced to do. She transforms in to a different persona of all smiles and kisses when she performs. Moments earlier she screams at her mother and then as soon as she hits the stages it is like it never happened/ She has no boundaries. Children must often do what they don’t want to do because it is in their best interest- like putting on their shoes or doing what they are supposed to do. She has no discipline or boundaries as we have seen not he show.

And you Carrie are very small and immature as you call me ugly in retaliation for calling Mackenzie ugly. This is verity child like behavior- tit for tale. You called someone a word I didn’t like now I am calling you the same word. Grow up! She is ugly based on wheat we saw on the show and her parents over indulgence is ugly in my view. MacKenzie does not show sensitivity towards others on the show. Instead ssshe shows an insincere smile as she takes photos with the other girls. There appears to be no connection with them in my view,

She also shows selfishness and self absorption and is sensitive to her own needs not any one else’s. And this girl thrives on attention, so don’t delude yourself. In fact she had temper tantrum and told her mother to put her down so she could go back in the line to compete again. So don’t dare say that this little girl doesn’t want all this attention. She most certainly does love the attention as we plainly saw on the show.

There are a lot of dramatic children on the who are indeed adorable and Mackennzie is not one of them. She is whiny, demanding, and nasty and abusive. Look at the way she talks to her mother. That is NOT dramatic. That is ugly and abusive. That, Carrie is not adorable! And back at you Carrie with your comment about my nauseating you about for the way I talk about MacKenzie. I am merely telling it like it is and if the truth hurts so be it. You definitely nauseate me for the way you talk about Mackenzie because you are obviously blinded and cannot see how horrible she behaves and how ugly she treats her mother.

In her formative years if a child acts like this on a consistent basis which she showed repeatedly on the show in several sequences, this child may grow up to have a distorted value system and issues. So get your head out of the sand and look at what IS not what you want it to be.

And fyi yes I did watch the show in great detail and I watched other little girls on the show who were indeed adorable and did not talk to their mothers like that or show such UGLY behavior.

Mackenzie’s mother and father have a lot of work to do with this child in my view . THE first thing they need to do is teach her some manners and how to speak to her parents with respect. Then they need to get her to an orthodontist to clear up her open bite they helped create with the Ni Ni and then get her to a speech pathologist to clear up her voice and speech issues. FIinally they need to send to a therapist in my view.

And if you have such a distorted look at this child, then you need to take a serious look at yourself and your own perceptions. And finally, my dear Carrie, I don’t need any drama to make myself relevant. I write these blogs and have countless people reading them each day to get information and to learn things. These blogs are not about me. They are about newsmakers and MacKenzie would be included in this category. So once again you show your ignorance and your hostility with your comment about keeping myself relevant.

If you accept this UGLY Behavior including a pacifier in a child’s mouth when they are four years old which helped to create a jaw deformity and speech and abnormal speech and tongue behaviors relevant for speech and all that screaming and the demanding and the UGLY way she is allowed to talk to her parents, then you need to examine yourself and your own values.

Pretty is as pretty does and ugly is as ugly does! Take your animosity elsewhere. Put it where it should be put, on her parents who have not done this child any favors by not disciplining her and setting boundaries for her.

Tommy's Mom

January 23, 2012 - 5:46 PM

You are absolutely correct in what you see in this truly ugly child and her ugly parents. What a shame they have so little respect for themselves to allow this to continue. Children are a gift from God and you will be held responsible for how you handled that gift,whether you believe it or not. God didn’t create ugly. People did.

Not Jumping To Conclusions

January 23, 2012 - 11:51 PM

Dr. Glass, I shan’t challenge you on your opinion about MacKenzie. I do, however, wonder how you know that Mrs. Myers’ eye tic is related in any way to her daughter’s behavior. I daresay that, unless you are privy to Mrs. Myers’ medical records and/or have examined her in person, you may not have ALL of the information needed to pass on a professional opinion about Mrs. Myers’ facial tics. There are many possible reasons for her tic, which may have absolutely nothing to do with her daughter’s behavior.

I enjoy reading your blog and I usually find your posts thought-provoking. You clearly have a very strong opinion about this little girl and you support your opinions with specific observations. But when you make an assumption about someone’s medical condition based merely on speculation, you undermine yourself and damage your professional credibility.

Bawooster you totally missed the point. The article is not about an eye twitch. It is about the ugly behavior of an ugly girl based on her parents ugly lack of boundaries and discipline. Take your animosity and smallness elsewhere and put it on her parents who have destroyed this girl by not setting limits and teaching her how to behave life a caring loving kind human being and not a rude out of control animal. Don’t put it on me. And give me a break about someone’s medical condition. The woman has a twitch that is consistent when she is abused by her daughter. She backs away , is silent and twitches. When such behavior is associated with a twitch it seems to be that is is not a medical condition but perhaps a psychological condition. As I said take you hate elsewhere, not here.

Not Jumping To Conclusions

People often develop twitches when they do not communicate their true feelings. Her facial tics do exist on a consistent basis in the show. Obviously I have not examined her medical records as that is against HIPPA regulations and your comment in this regard is obviously meant to be nasty. The point of the article is not the mothers twitch but her lack of parenting this child properly and over indulging the child without any boundaries. She is clearly shown to be intimidated by the child. Oftentimes when people twitch in many cases it is a reflection of their fear, and inner discomfort. Perhaps her twitching is due to nervousness she exhibits and intimidation.

Mary

January 24, 2012 - 6:57 PM

Carrie,

To quote you: “How dare you call a child ugly!” How do you think she will feel in 5 years when she Googles herself and finds your article.

Let’s call a spade a spade-that kid IS ugly! I’m sure she will be googling herself as soon as she figures out how to do so, and probably kissing images of herself through the unfortunate computer monitor. If she does discover what Dr. Glass said about her physical appearance, that will the least of her problems, because
unless she is taken in hand, in five years she will be even more ugly on the INSIDE than she already is and most likely someone with whom no normal person would wish to associate. Shame on her parents!
And shame on you for being so rude as to call Dr. Glass ugly. Do your ill-manners know no bounds?

Carrie, How dare you NOT call the child ugly! This is the ugliest child I have ever seen. Having worked with patients with severe facial abnormalities early in my career no one I have ever seen was ugly as Makenzie. My patients were beautiful within and they were able to shine on the outside despite their disabilities. Pretty is as pretty does and ugly is as ugly does and Mackenzie is ugly! And believe me my calling her ugly is the least of her problems. When she is older in 5 years and Googles herself on the show , if she has received therapy in the interim, she will she will see that my article is correct. In fact it may be the first time any adult has told her the truth about herself and her behavior. She is needlessly physically deformed now because of her parents negligence. A child who is living with a pacifier in his or her mouth at that age will suffer the consequences during crucial jaw development and speech development. And as far as my being called ugly by Carrie, it shows her ignorance. I am not ugly based on my definition that pretty is as pretty does and ugly is as ugly does. If Carrie wants to see ugly she needs to see what Mackenzie will probably be like when she is grown. Seeing patients born without eyes, split down their faces due to defects on embryological development, having cyclopean, and other serious malformations ( including the genetic syndrome I discovered called the Glass Gorlin Syndrome) is beautiful compared to Mackenzie.

sandy

January 24, 2012 - 7:37 PM

I,too, watched this ridiculous show Toddlers and Tiaras last evening. I think it is a despicable show that sexualizes young children – even babies! As for Makenzie, my reaction to her was I wanted to slap her. If I had ever thought about acting like that towards my parents I would have been slapped silly! What an ugly, spoiled, ridiculous child!

Cinderella

January 24, 2012 - 11:17 PM

I watch this show occasionally with my 15 yr old granddaughter and I have to tell ‘ya – I’ve seen both the episodes with “McKenzie” and after each one I felt ill. Physically ill. IMO, these parents should be evaluated re: their parenting skills and this child needs an intervention. I overheard granddaughter and her friends discussing the show and even these teens thought this girl was creepy and frightful. If I were in this girl’s immediate family, I’d be certain that this child NEVER participated in another pageant and instead began some intensive therapy. She’s going to need it.

Lydia

January 25, 2012 - 1:42 AM

I didn’t know that the eye twitch was due to things that needed to be said. When my iron gets too low I get plain exhausted and my eye twitches badly. I guess if anything is left unsaid, it’s the fact that I’m so embarrassed that my eye twitch is making me look crazy. As for Toddlers and Tiaras, I’ve only seen tiny snippets of the show. I can’t bring myself to watch it. It just seems so WRONG. I know nothing of the child you are discussing, but you have some interesting perspective on the whole children’s pageant scene. Also it’s hard not to notice that the parents (the one’s I’ve seen…) aren’t overall a healthy looking lot.

It is one of the causes. Twitching eyes reflect nerves that are overstimulated due to being stressed. Psychologically I have seen it repeatedly in my clients. When they release what is really bothering them and the tension and stress within them, I have observed the eye twitch dissipate until it is finally gone. Eye twitches don’t make you look crazy- just tense and nervous.

Not Jumping To Conclusions

January 25, 2012 - 6:09 AM

Dr. Glass, no hate here. As I indicated in my first post on this topic, I am extremely interested in your professional opinion. I respect the fact that you have very strong feelings about this little girl and the circumstances of her up-bringing. You feel so strongly about her that you call her “ugly”. You clearly state your feelings and you support your statements with evidence as to why you feel the way you do. All goo here.

I just got confused when you seemed to draw a conclusion about the cause of Juana Myers’ facial tic. Like many of your blog readers, I pay close attention to your statements about body and/or facial “tells”, and I try to learn from you. In your original post on this little girl, you seemed to imply that her mom’s obvious facial tic was a result of the little girl’s behaviour. I was just curious about how you arrived at that position. Was there something I didn’t see? I has just assumed that perhaps Juana’s tic was a long-standing personal habit, or maybe the camera and lights in her face made her nervous. After all, not all small-town southern housewives are as media-savvy as you.

I’m so sorry that you felt so challenged by my honest, respectfully staed question. I didn’t intend to seem “nasty”. My advice to you: relax, and try to learn from others as they try to learn from you.

horizen

January 25, 2012 - 9:55 AM

NotJumpingtoConclusions, all Dr. Glass did was clarify and explain her position. Obviously, a few of the posters here took it way off track and needed to be redirected back to the point of the article. Dr. Glass has always been direct, to the point, and objective. She is skilled at reading human behavior and body language. If you find her style too direct, that’s on you. Perhaps you should abide by your chosen name. What gives you the impression she needs to relax? She’s merely clarifying her observations in the face of some rather wacky off-base comments which attempted to derail the point of her post. I think the article is spot on and I commend her articulate integrity.

ZoomBroom

January 25, 2012 - 2:33 PM

That kid looks like a shark! Personally, I do not watch that show, as it seems sick to me to dress up children like Las Vegas showgirls and parade them around for the pedophiles to drool over. These pagents should not exist.

Exactly! Yes the dental areas does look shark like and this is caused from sticking an object in ones mouth during crucial jaw development.

Judy Holiday

January 25, 2012 - 8:25 PM

I just want to clear one thing up about the pacifer.She has finally laid it to rest because she was starting to feel embarrassed about it.Her mother also had her take a couple of yrs off so that she could grow-up and be taught to not act the way that she does on the show.I think she is a cute little girl but her attitude needs some major work.Good luck McKenzie!I know you have a special gift and you are not ugly so when ppl say that to you I say just ignore them.

Too late. The damage front he pacifier is already done. Look at her jaws. One reader described it as shark-like. It has already done it’s damage. Her mother needs to take her to a therapist. It is not about growing up it is about poor parenting and lack of boundaries. I have seen animals (my own lhassa apso) and 9 month old babies act more respectfully. You need to be taught boundaries early on. For Makenzie is is too late. She is already formed according to child development experts who state that after the first five years you are already formed. Mackenzie is already formed and whttps://www.drlillianglass.com/blog/wp-admin/edit-comments.php?p=1483&approved=1#comments-formhat we saw is who she is and this cannot be masked. her anger and her selfishness and self absorption is who she is thanks to her mother. MacKenzie has no special gift. She has a big mouth and a nasty disposition nd character based on what we saw. She is ugly to the core and no one can ignore that. Your advice to ignore when people tell her she is ugly is bad advice. She needs a reality check to learn that her ugly behavior will never be tolerated by anyone in society. the only reason TLC is tolerating it is because it makes for good TV. her mother tolerates it because she is intimidated by the child and likes their pageant lifestyle and needs her little cash cow to compete for her own gratification as well. It is awful!

Lynn

January 25, 2012 - 9:27 PM

So glad to read your accurate analysis of poor parenting Dr. Glass. My dear husband gets quite frustrated with little children misbehaving in public and I always explain their behaviour is often not the child’s fault … it is the parents! My sons were not allowed to disrespect or act out. Timeouts, lack of priveleges and coaching for better behaviour, worked in our household. My sons grew up to be productive happy adults with close friendships. I’m afraid Mackenzie’s future may be a struggle as she grows up and has to interact in school and society. Well done Dr. Glass. I hope her parents read your professional opinion and get this sad child some overdue help.

lynn

January 26, 2012 - 7:10 AM

This reality show like others is just sick .

They look like minature prostitutes at times with bad attitudes.

Blaze

January 27, 2012 - 6:26 PM

Thank you for the article Dr Glass..I have been watching this show and don’t understand why this is not considered child abuse.. After all these minors are not giving their permission to be made up ,force fed sugar, sexualized, and put on display for the whole world (including pedophiles) to see. They are being put in harms way by their parents for cash..it’s sick ..and should be examined more closely by DHS to see if it falls within the child abuse and child labor laws..

Blaze

January 27, 2012 - 6:33 PM

Seriously..if they are willing to force feed their children sugar or give them whatever it takes to get a win…how far would these parents go to make cash off their child or secure a win??

Pixiedust

January 27, 2012 - 8:56 PM

a lot of you don’t agree with the show I’ve seen a few things I didn’t like a mom put her kid on a strict diet to fit a dress and how eden’s mom told her she had to beat makenzie or she wpuld be a loser then you wonder how these people are famous ? It’s like junior jersey shore . Most of the kids can be divas and have tempers but I’m sure all of us had had a tantrum once in our lives. Were all human but id personally never call anyone ugly or a name for that matter there little girls they already have poor self due to their parents don’t blame the kid blame the parents besides name calling leads to eating disorders

janebug

January 29, 2012 - 12:48 AM

I just read a biography on Shirley Temple and this makes me see such a contrast. Shirley was beyond compare the most precosious, adorable child ever and by all accounts this was both inside and out. She was respectful annd polite rather than “full of herself”. This extended long after her child star statis had faded. She contributed so much to society, not just through her movies but her life’s work beyond. Somehow I don’t see that in this child’s future. It is quite apparent that a child can be full of talent yet well behaved as well. Prehaps Mckenzie’s parents could take a lesson or two from Mrs. Temple.

April

February 1, 2012 - 7:29 PM

I have a friend who has a daughter with mild Asperergers. Her daughter was in pageants growing up and is now 16. She annoys people at her school by always talking about how pretty she is. She constantly says I love you to everyone because she is so afraid of no one loving her. I have told her mother she needs to stop telling her she is the most beautiful girl because she can’t comprehend that she may not be. She gets angry and resentful when she is not the center of attention. She tells people all the time how pretty she is. This will cause her even more problems in years to come. Imagine having your co-worker tell you every day how pretty she is. She is 17 yrs old and has no concept of the feelings of others or that the world may not actually revolve around her.

April

February 1, 2012 - 7:30 PM

Sorry she is 17 not sixteen stupid typo. 🙂

Jeanie Dodd

February 1, 2012 - 8:14 PM

YOU NAILED IT LILLIAN GLASS!!!!

I watch Toddlers & Tiaras occasionally, like I do scary movies. It’s about time people stop being so politically correct about this issue and address a very toxic situation. WHY can’t a child who IS ugly due to ugly behavior and expression be called such? It’s the same as preventing conversation about child obesity due to ‘how wrong it is to identify a child as obese’ = this only prolongs the number of years before we as a society can come to grips with an issue which damages children in the same lasting way.

And I applaud you for pointing out that these pageant mothers are mostly (not all but mostly) overweight & unattractive and are living through their children. It makes me sick. I currently am overweight and unattractive and i do not find what you said offensive. And I have a daughter who was and is gorgeous. I recognize a part of me that is gratified when someone comments on how pretty she is, so I know what these mothers get from ‘showing’ their children like dogs. But my praise was for what she accomplished and for her mind, not how she looked.

These mothers are just like any other addict, justifying their addiction but nobody ever does an Intervention for them.

Jeanie Dodd

February 1, 2012 - 8:28 PM

..also, I have always felt the children, though indulged, are simply puppets for the mothers, who direct their every move and facial expression.

It’s like the toddlers are performing monkeys learning to imitate an exaggerated stylized view of being female.. most closely resembling a Drag Act than anything else.

It’s like these new virtual reality games you can play using your TV, which read your body and the Animation on the TV screen does what you do. The ‘cute’ kid is merely the Animation of the mother as she stands in the audience doing the moves the child immitates, poking her own cheeks which the child immitates, smirking, which the child immitates…creeps me out and i don’t know why some of this behavior doesn’t bring down Child Protective Services on their heads.

Michelle Villalobos

February 2, 2012 - 2:18 AM

What an amazing analysis – fascinating and true through and through. Impressive. One small note: the many spelling/grammatical errors are distracting and detract from the high-level of the argument being formulated. A once-over by an editor could easily fix that for a very small fee. I have several I could refer you to that I myself use 🙂

Carrie

February 4, 2012 - 3:08 PM

Wow! I really hit a nerve, didn’t I Lillian? You can dish it out but can’t take another persons opinion when they disagree with you. Classy. In my opinion anyone who calls a child “the ugliest child I’ve ever seen” is an ugly person. I stand by my opinion and refuse to further argue with such an angry, not to mention extremely judgmental person.It must be tough to be so perfect.

Mary, I’m sorry you were offended by me calling Lillian ugly. I didn’t mean physically, I meant internally. No matter what you think of a child, in my opinion, you don’t call them ugly but I guess that’s okay with you. To each their own. I was raised differently I suppose. The words Dr. Glass uses to describe this child are cruel. I guess that’s the only way she knows to get her point across. I love how she outs my last name too. What an unprofessional piece of work.

No nerve hit with me Carrie. If you are going to make ugly hateful comments then own up to making them and don’t hide. . People can disagree with me and do all he time. I welcome differences of opinion. I do not, however welcome hateful comments and personal attacks that are unwarranted. And yes i am angry at the parents who helped deform their child’s mouth by indulging her with a pacifier during crucial jaw development. I am angry that they did not set boundaries and teach this child manners and respect. I am angry that she is so self absorbed that it may hinder her personality development.
And I am not ugly internally as you have no clue about me or you wouldn’t have made such an ugly and stupid statement. JI speak the truth and that is internally beautiful. . You my dear Carrie need to look at yourself. IF you don’t think this child’s actions are ugly then you need to take a strong look at yourself and your own values or lack thereof.

. I will call a child who treats her mother like that ugly. I will call a child with a piranha like jaw deformity not attractive. Her behavior is what makes her very ugly. There is nothing cute about her as pretty and beauty is as they do. If you were raised differently than you were raised to not face the truth and hide. There is nothing cruel about calling this child ugly. It is cruel to ignore her behavior and hide your head in the sand as you appear to be doing. I think it is very professional to let everyone know the truth!!!

NancyB

February 5, 2012 - 6:16 AM

This child is a n obnoxious tyrant. Resentful, spiteful and unimaginable selfishness. I have never watched this show because I find the entire concept anathema to a healthy child’s development. I strongly object to the overt sexualization of children. To objectify kids at this age is sick. It’s a perve’s delight. These parents are beyond inappropriate and IMO it does border on abusive. I totally agree with the above comments that they are raising a potential Casey Anthony clone. They must be BLIND to not see what a little monster Mckenzie has become. They could benefit from major therapy themselves.

Question – Would a child that sucked their thumb past infancy suffer from the same jaw and tongue deformities and speech problems?

Thank you Nancy. Mackenzie’s mother said she is addicted to her ni ni which means she has it in her mouth at all times. When an object is in your mouth continually the growth plates can’t fuse properly. That is no doubt what happened to MacKenzie.

Hateliars

February 7, 2012 - 10:38 PM

Well said!! RIght on!……..Now please I beg you, observe and write on the most abusive adult on TV. Abby Lee Miller. Have you been watching Dance Moms? Horrendous!

Thanks Dr. Glass, Ill be waiting!!!

Lori

February 16, 2012 - 7:24 AM

These children remind me of the out of control kids that you run into at a store or the shopping mall. You know the loud obnoxious little brats that run wild up & down the aisles, sometimes running/bumping into people w/o apologizing, screaming at their mom/dad/parents, throwing temper tantrums, &/or demanding (from their mother &/or father) that a toy or toys be gotten for them; all while their mother &/or father politely & sheepishly ask them to “settle down or that’s it” or to “shhh settle down” or something to that manner, without any discipline whatsoever. I’m not a mother yet, but I know enough that when I have a child or children that he or she or they will HAVE manners, respect, & will be raised to NOT act the way that these kids do. It drives me nuts when I see this as I know that this type of out of control behavior is so unhealthy for the child/children & the chances that he/she/they will grow to be a despicable human being because of such lack of discipline are many times higher than that of a child that is raised w/ discipline/manners. Many young parents nowadays seem to want to raise their children more as “friends” than parents & don’t want to be the “bad guy” by punishing their child/children (maybe because the mom/dad/parents themselves were out of control undisciplined children at one time or they were disciplined & felt wronged by receiving such discipline). Giving/handing out discipline (when it’s due) shows that you CARE about & love your child & most importantly, it shows that you are a parent.

Christy

February 17, 2012 - 8:26 PM

I come for the articles but stay for the comments… Such passion! 🙂

Carolyn

February 22, 2012 - 4:26 PM

Dr. Glass you are 100% correct about the pacifier. We allowed our first child to use hers waaayyyy too long, at age 3 we only let her sleep with it, but the damage was done, she had to have painful and extensive orthodontic work at age 8.

Thank you so much for sharing this as living proof of what can happen. And yes it is very painful as the orthodontist has to restructure the upper jaw. It hurts at any age and hurts a child considerably. This is so ironic a situation. Here her parents are consumed with their daughter’s outside beauty while neglecting her inside beauty and they indulge her with a pacifier which destroys her physical beauty. Since they didn’t teach this child about inner beauty at a critical stage in her life, in my view she is at a clear disadvantage. Now she has distorted her physical beauty (via the pacifier induced jaw deformity) and lacks inner beauty from what we have seen.

lynne

February 26, 2012 - 8:21 PM

I am nauseated by all baby and toddler pageants, and I must say that Mackensie is truly a selfish, spoiled, UGLY brat.

sarah p

February 28, 2012 - 12:49 AM

this article is dead on. you don’t sound mean, you sound like someone who knows how to parent better than this child’s own parents! and you are absolutely right about the pacifier and it being very damaging to this child. this is a brat who needs to recognize she is just a child, and her parents need to grow a pair. don’t be afraid to say “no” to your kids! they will still love you!

Joy

March 23, 2012 - 12:52 AM

I think McKenzie is a very beautiful child. She is a sassy Southern Belle with attitude. At least no one will ever push her around she won’t allow it. Yes she is bossy and mouthy but that is part of her charm, She is
a new updated version of Scarlett O’Hara. GO Mckenzie you are so gorgeous don’t let any of these hateful comments get in your way. I think a lot of these negative comments are made out of being jealous of this child.

Bossy and mouthy is NOT beautiful under any circumstances She will find that out as she enters kindergarten, grade school, jr ,high and high school. Are you for real? Am updated version of Scarlet Ohara!! FYI Scarlet Ohara was a fictional character in Gone With the Wind and look how she turned out. MacKenzie is a real life CHILD for goodness sales. Children need to be given boundaries and told this behavior is unacceptable. Needless to say she will find out the hard way if she acts like this as she gets older. She will NOT be loved and adored except perhaps by her parents. MacKenzie’s negative perception is not due to haters. It is due to people who are in touch with reality and know that her behavior will never be tolerated in the world if she is to win friends and influence people.

orderlylogic

April 15, 2013 - 8:12 AM

Brilliant insight, Dr. Glass, regarding the trap set by pageant companies who award a prize to every contestant.

I respectfully disagree with the statement that there are a lot of dramatic children on the (show) who are indeed adorable. In my view, very few of the children who are featured on the show are adorable. (Perhaps many of the pageant contestants who are NOT featured on the show would behave just as badly as the MacKenzies and the Eden-Woods if they were.)

Interesting to note that many of the professional coaches say they grew up competing in pageants, yet they seem to be well-adjusted enough.